Impact area: Social inclusion; Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 4

Alejandro Mayoral-Baños founded Magtayaní in 2007 as a grassroots organization which was established as a not-for-profit, Grupo Juvenil Magtayaní, AC, in 2009. The organization is dedicated to accompany and promote the "good-living" and sustainability of Indigenous communities through the reconstruction of the social fabric.

“It’s urgent that we address the challenges associated with the sudden transition to distance learning caused by the COVID-19 pandemic,” Alejandro says. “If we don't, we risk an increase in the digital divide in rural/indigenous communities, school dropout rates, and educational lag. We aim to facilitate the process of adaptation to the new conditions and to reduce the inequalities and additional responsibilities that have been imposed on teachers, students, mothers, and fathers. As a complementary objective, we will improve the quality of secondary and upper secondary education in rural/indigenous areas using contextualized technological learning and communication tools."

The Global Youth Resilience fund will help Alejandro and his team achieve these goals in the following ways:

• Train 30 rural/indigenous secondary and high school teachers from Chiapas and Veracruz in digital learning and communication skills to improve pedagogical practice.
• 3 rural/Indigenous schools in Chiapas and Veracruz reduce the digital divide gap by using “Pásame la Tarea,” a co-designed educational application.
• 3 rural/Indigenous schools in Chiapas and Veracruz reduce the risk of school dropout.
• Validate 1 digital educational application by rural/indigenous secondary and high schools in Chiapas and Veracruz that can be replicated in similar contexts.

Learn more about the amazing work being done by Magtayaní here.